Published on 12, July, 2020
I was wondering if anyone might have any experiences (either positive or negative) disclosing ASD to your boss/supervisor/line manager who is from the older generation?
Asperger Syndrome wasn't discovered until the mid-1900s, and wasn't really known of by most people until maybe the past 20 years or so. So it seems plausible that some people who are from an older generation might not have heard of ASD or know much about it. And because of this, it seems quite scary to tell a boss/supervisor/line manager who is in their 60s-70s that you have ASD, because it's something that didn't really exist in their time, so there's the worry that they might not believe it. I don't know if this kind of worry makes sense. I'm afraid they might just think you're not "trying hard enough" with the social stuff, rather than it's due to autism.
Before disclosing, I would really suggest to read the Equality Act carefully and reflect on the reasons you want to disclose and the line you are going to take.
One need to read and understand the meaning of disability - doing things differently, while achieving the same result.
Note that one still need to be able to do the job, be qualified, have skills and qualities required by the job description. Otherwise they are in their right to dismiss. One need to be able to demonstrate that the disability does not prevent from performing the duties to the same results as others, but may require reasonable adjustments on the how we do it.
There is a fine line on how to articulate the disclosure: what exactly are the daily activities that are impaired, how are they impaired and how it doesn't preclude from doing the job...but how it make us doing it differently, hence the need for reasonable adjustments. It is always a good idea to do some prior research to have examples of possible reasonable adjustments, to know what you want.
Disclosing is always risky as many already explained.
I was at a stage once when I really wanted to disclose it even during application, to say this is who I am. A recruitment consultant dismissed the idea in horror and ridicule, saying it is not relevant, employers don't need to know that. They need to know that you are 'talent' and you are good at your job. This upset and disheartened me a lot. I felt invalidated and disempowered. But this is a glimpse of sad reality. There are a lot of people out there who do not fully embrace neurodiversity.
There were incidences where people disclosed and were dismissed for not disclosing earlier during application. This went to tribunal and I think was deemed to be discrimination. But it could happen.
It makes sense to disclose if one need reasonable adjustments and if the dx explains some of the issues the employer has already noticed.
It makes less sense do disclose just because... But then again, it is part of our identity, so unless we start pushing it right in the face of employers so to speak, there will continue to be the attitude that it is something to hide.
It's your decision, but you want it to be informed and carefully thought through:)
I second the thank you from qwerty. This is really good advice.
Qwerty I disclosed to my employer and things got a lot worse for me. I don't want to put you off, and obviously I have no idea who your employer is or what they are like. A good line manager really does make so much difference. I was told before disclosing there were no concerns with my work, but since disclosing they've pretty much done all they can to make it as difficult for me as possible so they can turn round and say I'm not capable of doing my job. I think i'm facing dismissal very soon. I've not had any adjustments made, and the ones I've asked for that are standard adjustments for people with autism have all been rejected, but they continue to stick together and say they've offered me support. I would disclose it again in future however, and hope my next employer is more reasonable and understanding.
Yep, this can definitely be an outcome! I disclosed in my previous job which went *really* well - they were a bit surprised, then I could see the penny drop (like it explained a lot - the sort of look you get from friends when you disclose) - they just let me work at home and whenever I said anything outrageously blunt or took a while to comprehend NT speek they would just twinkle and giggle so we got on really well after I disclosed, I used to have lunch with various members on my Board and it was all fine. They were really positive about my work and really supportive. In my current job, it's just added to the hell and chaos. I think it might be a bit of a pot luck thing - so much depends on the sanity and decency of your line management.
I think it may vary with academics too. It often takes a lot of luck to stay in academia. And I feel that those who are fortunate enough (to have a lot of support and opportunities when they were doing their degree) don't really appreciate how difficult it can be for the less fortunate. They often think their success is due to their effort. Some can be quite condescending when it comes to disabilities like autism or dyslexia, and might think asking for adjustments is an act of being lazy. So their reasoning might be to not give adjustments so that the student can learn more.I think the personal laptop reply is for photonic_electrons from an earlier reply.I think the assistive technology is a good idea. I don't have any problems around my personal laptop though. I don't have a lot of work stuff saved on it - I usually just use Remote Desktop to access what I need on my work computer.